This is what helped start the whole thing… fantastic article by the brant news and four amazing commercials by adam hislop of atomic spark featuring Chris Friel, Marc Laferriere, James Calnan and Lucas Duguid

Organizers of Brantford’s first “Tweetstock” say they want to make sure the city is ahead of the curve when it comes to social networking. Lucas Duguid and Trevor Cherewka are planning Brantford’s first-ever “tweet-up,” where users of Twitter and other social networking tools meet face-to-face, outside of the virtual realm.

Tweetstock takes place June 24 at the Piston Broke Pub starting at 8 p.m. The organizers hope the event will bring together creative minds in Brantford who have yet to connect. “Brantford has a lot of star power and it’s Brantford that doesn’t know about it,” Duguid said.

Both organizers own design companies: Duguid operates Octopus Red and Cherewka Tic Tok Media. They said Tweetstock will showcase how social media can be used. “We’ll demonstrate how to build your business, raise awareness for a cause and build your personal brand using these tools,” Duguid said. “This will be for experienced, novice or even interested users of social media.” Guest speakers will explain how social media helped them build their brand, with a social media twist, “Each speaker will have just 360 seconds to replicate the quick hit of social media,” Cherewka said.

The lineup includes mayoral candidates Chris Friel and James Calnan, NDP candidate Marc Laferriere and the organizer of the Hamilton 24-hour Film Festival, Martinus Geleynse. Duguid’s company designs 2007 Canadian Idol winner Brian Melo’s website and the performer will also be a special guest at the event. However, Melo won’t be performing. Those attending Tweetstock are encouraged to bring their smartphone, PDA or iPad to tell the world about Brantford and connect with like-minded locals. “If you come in with 100 followers on Twitter, we want you to leave with 200,” Cherewka said.

Our fourth and largest Tweetstock is only a few weeks away. Scott Stratten from Unmarketing and Kathy Buckworth are two of the featured speakers. Scott is currently on a nation-wide book tour promoting his New York Times Bestseller “Unmarketing”. We’re really excited to be holding this event in the lobby of the Sanderson Centre right here in the heart of downtown Brantford.